Nice Things

  "There's no real reason we shouldn't buy it," she said, lifting the lava lamp from off the shelf. The price tag made him wince: $149.99 Of course, the only reason why the $0.99 cents was there was to make the value look less, exactly like the way they put the extra two zeros on the back of potential cash prizes of lottery tickets.

  "But there's no reason we should buy it either," he groaned, "which is exactly why we shouldn't." He lifted his hand to pat his pocket, holding his wallet, stuffed full with $10 dollar bills, $50 dollar bills, $100 dollar bills and several assorted credit cards. No coins; he never endeared, nor endured coins: they were merely bulky and useless. He always threw the change in whatever donation box he could find. Perhaps the nearest beggar. He clutched the wallet in his pants tighter to him, until the fabric of his pants wrinkled, deciding never to let go.

  The woman smiled lovingly at the lamp, before placing it in the cart filled with other useless objects, as he viewed them. Solar powered lamp, several types of cheese graters, cookie cutters and all sorts of junk. His wallet was pressured fit to burst. Why should he be wasting his funds on those?

  "But we never have nice things!"

  "Do we have the money for that?"

  Both of them exclaimed at the same time.

Peace

Tread softly on the grass beneath your feet.
Stroll gently upon the sand that encircles you
Walk lightly in the water that envelops your legs.

There's a treasure there that's harder to find,
Then pearls and diamonds and gold.
Peace.